LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers made history by winning the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament. The newly introduced tournament served its purpose bringing playoff intensity to the usually dull early season. This helped skyrocket viewership massively. From James’ statements, it was clear winning it meant a lot to him and the team. However, it is still not considered a major achievement by many even though it was exciting. NBA legend Charles Barkley joked the Lakers better not raise a banner for it. A few days back, Skip Bayless gave his thoughts about how Michael Jordan would have reacted to the tournament. Bayless went one step ahead and claimed Jordan would have won every single In-Season tournament during his time in the league. How true is that?
Skip Bayless’ massive claim about Michael Jordan
We all know that Skip Bayless is the most vocal Michael Jordan fan. So, it is safe to assume that as a huge fan, his views could be a bit biased. Bayless and his former colleague NFL legend Shannon Sharpe have had multiple arguments because of Skip’s inclination toward Michael Jordan and Sharpe’s fandom of LeBron James.
However, as outrageous as it sounds, Jordan was so great that he gives us enough reasons not to immediately dismiss Bayless’ recent claim. The 6x NBA champion’s success on and off the court and his record in the Finals forces us to take a deeper dive.
During a recent episode of The Skip Bayless Show, the analyst answered a fan’s question: Do you think MJ would have cared about the In-Season Tournament? Bayless stated that Jordan would have dismissed the idea with the word “cute”. However, he believed that MJ would have won every In-Season Tournament he played.
Bayless said, “And you know what he would have done? However many they would have played through his career, if they had this year after year, he would’ve won it every single year. That’s just what he did. That’s what he was made of.”
He then recounted an incident during the 1998 Conference Finals to explain MJ’s elite mentality. The analyst recalled seeing the 5x NBA MVP during practice hitting a free throw with his left hand while being blindfolded for a bet with his teammates who could not believe their eyes. Skip proclaimed, “He was the coldest-blooded basketball killer ever!” He further reiterated that the Hall of Famer would have “terrorized” the In-Season tournament.
Michael Jordan and the Bulls were not always invincible
Michael Jordan has a perfect record in the NBA Finals. In six trips to the ultimate stage, Jordan helped the Chicago Bulls win six titles. Furthermore, he did it with two different three-peats. Also, Jordan never let a Final series go to game 7 by clinching the ring in game 6 or before. MJ and the Bulls never allowed their opponents a sniff.
For all these reasons and more, many consider him the GOAT of basketball including Skip Bayless. But the In-Season Tournament is different. So, we cannot conclusively say how MJ would have fared in it. However, let’s check his numbers to have an informed take.
Jordan took the league by storm after entering the NBA in 1984 and immediately took the Bulls to the playoffs. Notably, he never missed the postseason during his time in Chicago. However, he struggled to lead the team to a deep playoff run during his initial years despite major individual achievements. In his first six years in the league, he had won the MVP award, All-Star MVP, DPOY, two Steals titles, two Slam Dunk contests, etc.
But, he did not reach the Finals. Notably, the Detroit Pistons eliminated Jordan and the Bulls in the Conference Finals for two straight years. MJ finally had his revenge against the Bad Boys in 1991 and reached the finals. Air Jordan and the Bulls dominated the Lakers in the Finals and clinched their first-ever championship. Then, there was no stopping MJ.
However, if there was an In-Season tournament during Jordan’s first six years, there is not enough reason to believe he would have won every single one.
Michael Jordan’s first six seasons
Even though Michael Jordan reached the playoffs every year with the Bulls, their regular-season record was not the greatest in his early years. It has to be considered because the In-Season Tournament games were necessarily regular-season games. The 30 teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on the previous season’s record. Then four teams from each conference advance to the knockout stages.
In his rookie season, Jordan helped the Bulls to an improved 38-44 record from the previous year’s 27-55 record. With MJ’s injury, the team slipped to a 30-52 record in the next season but still made the postseason. Jordan led Chicago to a 40-42 record in his third season. In all three seasons, the team was eliminated in the first round. Given their poor regular season records, it is safe to assume the team would not have made the knockouts of the In-Season tournament. Even if they did, they were no match for stronger Eastern Conference opponents like the Boston Celtics.
Finally, the Bulls had a winning record of 50-32 during Jordan’s fourth year and subsequently moved to the second round where they were beaten by the Pistons. The Bad Boys continued their dominance over Chicago for three straight years. The Bulls were still not the best team in the conference. So, it can be argued MJ might not have won it during his first six years. However, Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers‘ run this year can be used as an example to suggest Jordan would have done better. The Pacers finished last season 35-47 and did not make the playoffs. However, they reached the In-Season Tournament Finals thanks to Haliburton’s heroics.
The final verdict
Given the format of the new contest and Michael Jordan’s revered mentality and killer instinct, it can be argued he would have willed his team to victory. Jordan never needed a game 7 in the Finals. However, he has played multiple game 7s in the postseason and mostly gave his best. In 13 elimination games in his career, MJ averaged 31.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7 assists per game as per StatMuse.
That is not far from his overall postseason average of 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. However, he did not always have a great game by his standards. He scored just 19 points while facing elimination against the Celtics in 1986. In the next year, he scored 30 against them but still lost.
In 1988, he had 25 points against the Pistons as the Bulls crashed in the second round. He scored 32 and 29 in the next two years but the Pistons still prevailed. During the infamous loss against the Orlando Magic after his return, MJ had 24 points. From this, it is clear Jordan did not always have a great game when facing elimination. Even when he did, the Bulls did not always win.
There was simply not enough support for MJ during his initial years. So, there is evidence to claim MJ would have won the In-Season tournament every season in his first six years and subsequently every year in the league. However, it would have been possible during his championship runs.
Jordan and the Bulls were absolutely dominant during their six titles. Be it the playoffs or the regular season. During these runs, they finished their regular seasons with the records 61-21, 67-15, 57-25, 72-10, 69-13, and 62-20 respectively. Even with the 57-25 record in 1992-93, they clinched the second seed and won the title.
During these six seasons, Jordan and the Bulls played an elimination game only twice: Against the New York Knicks in 1992 when MJ erupted for 42 points, and the Pacers in 1998 where he had 28 points. The Bulls also had a better team. So, there is a possibility of Jordan and the Bulls winning the In-Season Tournament every year they won the NBA title. However, Skip Bayless’ claims of MJ winning it every year seem a bit of a stretch.